Panel chosen by Christie endorses N.J. Supreme Court nominees

Courtesy of the Office of the GovernorGov. Chris Christie announces the nomination of Phillip Kwon (left) and Bruce Harris (right) to the N.J. Supreme Court on Jan 23. An advisory panel, hand-picked by Christie, wrote a letter endorsing the candidates.

TRENTON — Faced with a state Supreme Court nomination in jeopardy and hearings a day away, the Christie administration countered critics of both nominees Tuesday with the endorsement of an advisory panel he had hand-picked.

The letter of endorsement, dated three weeks ago but released by Gov. Chris Christie only Tuesday, came as doubts swirled about whether the nomination of Phillip Kwon, 44, the first assistant state attorney general, would have enough Democratic support to make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I don’t think there’s a lock on anything," said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), a panel member who was still reviewing the nominees, Kwon and Bruce Harris, 61, the mayor of Chatham. "If there was a lock, I don’t think we’d need a committee hearing."

Kwon’s nomination has been under a cloud since The Star-Ledger disclosed that federal authorities last year accused the wine and liquor store owned by his wife and mother of chopping more than $2 million into 222 bank deposits to avoid scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service.

In December, the store forfeited nearly $160,000 to settle the suit and admitted no liability. An attorney for the store has said that all taxes were paid, no criminal charges were filed in the case, and Kwon was not named as a defendant.

Nonetheless, Senate Democrats are said to be preparing a spate of inquiries into the business for the hearings tomorrow. They want to know who made the deposits, what Kwon knew about them, what the money was used for and if any of it was tied to the purchase of his $2.3 million home in Closter. The store’s attorney has denied the money helped buy the house.

Christie Tuesday showed no signs of pulling either of his nominees from hearings. At a news conference in Hamilton, he said Harris and Kwon are qualified for the job and "if judged on the merits" will be confirmed.

"I’m confident that my nominees will do an outstanding job on Thursday," Christie said.

The governor’s office also rolled out a unanimous endorsement of the nominees from the seven-member Judicial Advisory Panel selected by Christie in 2010, a week after the entire panel resigned in protest after he refused to reappoint Justice John Wallace Jr.

The advisory panel was created under an executive order signed by Gov. Jon Corzine in which the panel is responsible for examining nominees for the Superior Court — not the Supreme Court — and its recommendations are required to be kept confidential.

"The panel’s membership is composed of extremely well-respected members of New Jersey’s legal community and their judgment of these nominees, not to mention their unanimous endorsement, carries significance," said Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for the governor.

The governor’s 11th-hour offensive was meant to shore up support for the nominees, especially Kwon. Bruising hearings for him could not only jeopardize his seat on the high court, but also tarnish his reputation at the Attorney General’s Office and as a former federal prosecutor.

"He has to make a living somewhere along the line and this could have a real negative impact on him," said Patrick Murray, polling director at Monmouth University.

But if Democrats topple Kwon because of the lawsuit, Christie’s image as a former prosecutor who took on public corruption could suffer, Murray said, especially since he prosecuted similar cases as U.S. attorney.

"That’s why Democrats are going after him much more than they’re going after Harris," Murray said.